Midnight
by ThisCatalyst'sPen
Summary: A note left on his pillow tells Casey to meet him on the rooftop of his apartment at midnight. The news is not good and the lives of the turtles will never be the same again. One-shot.


**Summary: **A note left on his pillow tells Casey to meet him on the rooftop of his apartment at midnight. The news is not good as the lives of the turtles will never be the same again. One-shot.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the turtles.

**Author's Note: **Apologies for not updating anything in quite a while. Year 12 is a scary place to be as I have found out and whilst it is only early in this journey, the workload is already great. I promise I will try to update as much as I can through assignments, exams and study, study, study. This is just a little one-shot to get back into the writing spirit. I hope you all enjoy. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

* * *

**Midnight**

* * *

The note had told him to be on the roof of April's apartment at exactly twelve am. Casey didn't know why it had to be exactly twelve am; he guessed it was for the dramatic effect. He couldn't have been sure who had written him the note, obviously it had to be someone who knew him and knew where he lived, but Casey had a pretty good idea.

He had returned home late that afternoon from work, ready for a nice quite night of kicking back and watching the game and maybe having a few beers whilst April was out of town on business. But the folded note on his pillow had put all of those tantalising plans out the window as he read the note.

_Casey,_

_Meet me on the roof of your apartment tonight at exactly twelve am. _

_Make sure you are not followed._

Casey could sense the urgency in the note, and his curiosity was peaked. He had a pretty good idea who had written the note, so, discarding his previous ideas for the night, he prepared to make an easy dinner and kept his eye on the kitchen clock, slowly counting down the hours.

* * *

It was a cold night and Casey was regretting not bringing a coat with him. It was an overcast night, the cloud cover obscuring the moon and any stars that twinkled in the sky, bathing the roof and surrounding roofs in thick, coiling shadows. Casey shuffled his feet uncomfortably as the wind picked up, sending chills across his bare arms. He fidgeted on the spot, constantly scanning the area around him and looking down at his watch impatiently. It was now twelve thirty, and there were no signs of anyone wanting to meet him on the roof.

Casey was about to give up and go back inside when a flash of movement caught his eye. Instinctively, he held his breath and went completely still, eyes probing the darkness for the source of the movement. His hands twitched by his sides, ready to grip his baseball bat that was slung across his back if needed.

"Calm down, Case, I ain't gonna hurt ya'," a familiar voice growled close to his ear.

"Damn it, Raph!" Casey snarled, whirling around in fright to find his best friend standing a metre away in the shadows. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry," Raphael said, moving out of the shadows. "Couldn't help myself."

"You dog," Casey muttered but smiled despite himself. "You're late."

"No I'm not," Raphael disagreed. "You're early."

"The note said twelve am exactly."

"I didn't think you would actually be on time."

"Well I was on time," Casey muttered before shrugging it away. "How have you been, man? I haven't seen you for ages."

Raphael shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, Case, I was meaning to visit sooner but things are pretty hectic at home at the moment."

"Is that what you wanted to see me about?" Casey asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's okay," Raphael assured him. "And yes, that's why I wanted to see you."

"Why didn't you just call?" Casey wondered.

"Phone isn't working, I'm waiting for Donnie to fix it, but…he has other things to worry about at the moment."

"So what did you want to tell me?" Casey asked. "Is everything okay with Mikey?"

"Donnie has tried everything he can," Raphael explained sadly, "but he isn't improving. Donnie says the only way he will survive is if he gets a new kidney, and I'm the only match for him."

"So, are you doing it?" Casey asked softly.

"Of course, I'd do anything for Mikey," Raphael whispered. "I…I just wanted to let you know we won't be able to go out busting heads anymore. I...I can't fight anymore," Raphael said a catch in his voice as he fought to keep his voice steady and his eyes dry.

"Raph…I'm so sorry," Casey said, placing his hand on Raphael's shoulder in support.

Casey thought back to the fateful night three weeks ago. They had been out on patrol when they had stumbled upon the Purple Dragons on the wharf. They were piling crates of unknown cargo in one of the nearby warehouses. They were definitely up to no good. They had jumped into action and a fight had broken out. One of the Purple Dragons had snuck up behind Mikey, a large sledgehammer in his meaty fists. He must have made some sort of noise because Mikey whirled around, but wasn't fast enough to miss the blow. The hammer hit his lower plastron with tremendous force, crushing his plastron and his left kidney. He had been in a coma for two weeks, barley holding onto life.

"It's okay," Raphael said quickly. "I'm happy to do it if it means Mikey will survive. We just won't be able to fight anymore. I'm okay with that," Raphael quickly added, seeing the concern clouding Casey's face. "I mean, I'll miss it, yeah…it's the one thing I'm actually good at, and the only thing that keeps me sane…but I'll manage, for Mikey."

"We can still hang out," Casey assured his friend, feeling a lump form in his throat. He was _not _going to cry in front of his friend. "We'll watch the game and drink a few beers…" Casey trailed off as realisation hit him. "I mean…ugh…"

"It's okay, Casey," Raphael said quietly. "I can just drink something else."

Casey looked down at his feet in embarrassment. He couldn't image how Raphael must be feeling right now, but he knew, if he were in the same position, he would do the same.

"Mikey is my brother," Raphael mumbled. "I would do anything for him. If he needed blood, I'd give him all the blood he needs. Hell if he needed a heart I'd give him mine. A kidney is a small price to pay for his life."

Casey nodded in understanding. "So…when's the operation?"

"In a few days," Raphael said. "Donnie wants to do a few more tests on Mikey and I first, then we should be good to go."

"I'll come visit you guys," Casey said. "Might bring over some movies while you guys are recovering."

"Yeah, thanks, Case, that sounds good," Raphael forced himself to smile.

"Hey, you're not giving your kidney away tonight. What do you say to more patrol?"

Raphael smiled at his best friend. "I thought you'd never ask."


End file.
